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Hi there Kickstarter community. I'm here to offer a second chance for you to get your hands on my newest game entitled Rise of Cthulhu. After the February Kickstarter was so successful I had a lot of people email me asking about how they could get their hands on a copy after the campaign was over. Unfortunately I had only made a print run large enough to cover the initial offering. But with the excess funds from the first campaign, I am able to do another smaller print run for those who missed the first one, if I can just raise a little bit more (and yes, this run will include the Stretch Goal rewards from the first campaign). So whether you missed the first campaign, or you want additional copies to share with your friends, here's your chance to grab them before they are gone once more. Thanks again for all your support and good gaming to you all!

Darkness looms on the horizon. Strange signs have started to appear all over the world: seas flecked with blood, flocks of shadowy figures wheeling in the sky, prophetic visions that leave people mumbling in addled madness. The time has finally come. The Old Ones are stirring, and it’s your job to wake them up!

In Rise of Cthulhu you play as the leader of a cultist faction wishing to awaken Cthulhu and the other Old Ones to rule this world. But a competing faction races against you to be the first to awaken these chaotic masters.

By playing various numbered and colored Cultist Cards, you must control the prime Lovecraftian locations – Arkham, Dunwich, Innsmouth and Kingsport – in an effort to awaken an Old One. The faction that maintains the most influence on a location will gain favor when the Old One arises, while the losing faction risks the destruction of their sanity and souls.

50 Cultist Cards

13 Monster Cards

8 Old One Cards

6 copies of an Artifact Card

4 Location Cards

1 Dark Hunter token

Rulebook

On your turn you must choose from the following actions: draw 2 cards, or play 2 cards, or draw 1 card and play 1 card (or vice versa). Cards can be drawn from a face down deck of Cultist Cards or a face up pile of discarded Cultists Cards, known as the Valley.

Cards must be played on your side of one of the four main Lovecraftian locations - Arkham, Dunwich, Innsmouth and Kingsport. The player with the most total points on a given location turns the location to face them, marking that location as being influenced by their cultists. As the values change during gameplay, locations will shift their influence from player to player.

Playing three of the same color, three of the same number, or a run of three cards of the same color (ex. 2-3-4 of green) will earn players the right to draw from special Monster and Artifact Cards to help keep their hold on locations or hinder their opponent, as well as move the dreaded Dark Hunter to locations to destroy the highest value card in play there.

At key points in the game, Old Ones will be drawn from the Cultist Deck and attach themselves to a location: the player currently influencing that location will reap the benefits of the Old One. When all three Old Ones awaken, the game ends and the person with the most locations facing them (or points in play if there's a tie) is the winner.

Rise of Cthulhu plays in 30 minutes or less.

I think it's valuable to hear what others in the gaming community think about my product as well. Here's what some other folks who have had the chance to review the game have said.

Undead Viking

"I really enjoyed this. It's highly competitive, it's a lot of fun, and it's quick to teach...it's everything that a 2 player card game should be. If you are looking for a quick 2 player Cthulhu game, I think it's perfect."

Let's Level Up

I believe that a great game needs great manufacturing components. To ensure Rise of Cthulhu has this, I’ve contracted with Panda GM as my manufacturing partner. Furthermore, each poker-sized card in the game will be made with top of the line 310 GSM Blackcore cardstock. A good card game needs to be able to stand up to some wear and these cards will ensure a long life, with excellent print quality, for the years to come.

I’ve always wanted to create a Cthulhu inspired game. Even when I was designing and producing my last game (Zombies versus Werewolves), I was already thinking of a way to produce something simple but tactical set in Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. I have spent countless hours reading Lovecraft’s stories and playing similar themed board games like Arkham Horror, Eldritch Horror, Mansions of Madness, Elder Sign and Witch of Salem (to name a few).

I wanted to create something that didn't take hours to play, was easily portable, and felt tactical and different each time. In addition, I also wanted to create something that would showcase a series of unique style of "graphic novel" art into the already elaborate Cthulhu genre. I decided to have the players play as the “bad guys”. I figured there were already plenty of games out there where the heroes try to stop Cthulhu; why not give the guy some help for a change.

There may not be many names behind Rise of Cthulhu, but each deserves recognition for their efforts and they are some of the best folks I've had the privilege of working with to date.

So what are you waiting for? Get your copy of Rise of Cthulhu today and start your own path to waking up the Old Ones from their terrible slumber. Thanks for your support. May your days be filled with great games.

Risks and challenges

I have successfully delivered games like this on Kickstarter, so I am familiar with the elements needed to get it made and get it out to you, the backers, as quickly as possible. The only risk this time around is how long it takes to get the units from overseas, but I have built in time for that so this should not be an issue.